1. Field
The following description relates to a method and apparatus for relaying in a multicast network.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a communication system has been employed as a medium to connect a person and another person. Accordingly, only 1% of devices currently present on the earth are being used through mutual connection over a network. With the development in communication technology and unification movement according to integration of devices, smart phones, sensor devices, and a variety of devices having a communication function organize a large network. In addition, many users of communication terminals are more easily utilizing a variety of applications, such as content sharing, synchronization, output, and games, for example, through a direct connection between devices. To meet the requirements of a change in the market, wireless connection technologies capable of supporting a direct connection between devices, for example, a device-to-device communication beyond cellular communication using an existing infrastructure have appeared.
A multicast method and a unicast method differ in many aspects. Initially, the multicast method needs to provide a service to a large number of users and thus, may not easily determine whether the service has been accurately transferred since overhead according to the service transfer significantly increases according to an increase in the number of users. Also, many multicast/broadcast services need to be transferred in real time and are variable based on a time, a location, and other factors coming from characteristics of a wireless channel.